could be that he wants to lead an expedition or that he's old and has a map for the PCs?

The goevernment of Pale bought the jump route infor and plans to send a Volturnus Survey Expedition and considers it something that private citizens should not mess with. ie the government wont be friendly to the PCs polking around and asking questions. 

PCs and or Farini dont have accurte information on the location of Zebulon. - Mission one: determine the right star to jump to. (note the government already has this as well as the Star Devil pirates)

Mission two: secure a ship- government men in black types show up asking questions and potentially a couple of Star Devil pirates causing trouble- bar brawl level of action verbal threats, pushing and shoving etc. trying to scare off the PCs

Mission three: We're off to see Volturnus- leaving Truane's Star- pursued by mysterious ship. Maybe not a KHs fight but a ship thats hanging back and following at extreme distance. 

The ship the PCs end up with could be the Hepplewhite ship? of the Hepplewhite crash sample adventure from the AD rule book. 

EDIT: once in Zebulon system the PCs will face KHs action w/ Star Devil pirates

He clearly exploited her. 

Adventure: Garini's Gambit

Newly imagined intro to the Volturnus Series

Age 186

He was a famous performer and show man for nearly a century. Seems to have disappeared 50 years ago. Turned up again 7 years ago with fantastic tales of being marrooned on a planet with a lost civilization, pirates, and fantastic creatures, even a telpathic octopoid. 

Is accompanied by a curious monkey like creature (kurabunga). polyvox, skiensuit, kurabunga blow dart tube, darts and a pot of sleep poison (detailed in on of the FE issues), semi-automatic pistol (SFman #1) and spare clip, a hand forged knife , plus a haversack for carrying his stuff. Familiar enough with modern frontier eqiupment. Projectile lvl 1 but lvl 2 if using blow gun or bow and arrows. operates gliding vehicles as if a lvl 4 skill. Has flown a glijet and an enclosed cockpit glider during his time in the Frontier. Loyal to Garini but would love to to return to his home planet he also loves the possibilities that Frontier tech open up to him for flight (cant wait to fly a jetcopter). EDIT: he might be a level 0 technitian he's been learning how things work since getting the Frontier but has not quite qualified as a level 1 tech. Level 0 simply means he does not suffer the -20 penalty for being unskilled.

Garini has been trying to interest people in an expedition, he's not having luck getting people to believe him. mMost dont even believe he is Garini. 

He is hiring a team to go to Laco, he's heard a rumor of a seemingly sapient creature and its lizard like mount wandering the wastes of Laco near the Tetrarch runs and pyramids. He believes this is one of the primitive species from his lost planet and is hoping to discover how it came from there to Laco and use the creature as mounting proof that he is telling the truth and gain financial investment for an expedition. Using the Encounters from Polyhedron or Ares written by Zeb Cook- a scientist from a PGC team out to study the alien ruins and pyramids discovers an Ul-mor and his loper- this Ul-mor was taken aboard a Star Devil pirate ship as a mascot but eventually was abandoned on Laco or he just wandered off from the pirates. 

This Cook encounter is the start of the adventure. 

PGC security will harass and try to run off the PCs and eventually detain them and Garini. Garini in trying to explain things show the PGC exec samples of Tomarrilium and Vibranium that he kept from the pirate operation on Volturnus. 

Note Garini's secret is that he joined an expedition 50 years ago that suffered a catastrophe and marrooned him on Volturnus. he lived there a long time and befriended the kurabunga. When the pirates showed up he thought he was saved but alas no they were pirates. he joined the Star Devils, first as an entertainer but eventually became accepted as one of them and managed to be on board one of their craft headed for the Frontier. and as soon as he could he defected and disappeared. If ever discovered by the Star Devils, things may b very unpleasent for him. 

PGC has been quietly buying the two ores the star devils have been mining on Volturnus as these ores are rare and are critical for making federanium which is a key component in star ship hulls since it is an effective screen against radiation in space. PGC is 1.) worried about their deal with the STar Devil coming to light 2.) would like to know the location of Volturnus and move to cut the STar Devil out even eliminate them as a liability. Thus when they scan Garini's samples they will know they come from Volturnus and are willing to finance a quiet little expedition in Garini's name (using him as a cut out and for deniablity) mindful of the Pale Governments claim to Voltunrus

PGC coughs up the money to outfit an expedition and charter a small ship: Thruster class Privateer? with a crew of 3. The ships crew comes off as scaliwags with rough edges. Garini needs the PCs as a party loyal to him for this.

Once the ship reaches Truane's star there is the issue of a jump route. Garini believes he knows which star it is but does not have a computer file of the Jump route. The astrogator can attempt to chart the route but he and the ships crew are demanding the exclusive property of the rout they chart (this may or may not benefit them as Pale already paid for the route to a guy named Zebulon) . On the other hand Garini spied a Star Devil ship in port and believes that if they can distract the star devils he can pull the star route from the ship's computer.  Decision must be made as to course of action. 

Garini and the kurabunga will begin using a holo screen while in port to prevent being seen by a Star Devil crewman by chance. 

NOTE: depending oun outcome of the Cook Encounter the PCs may have that Ul-mor and his loper in tow. 

1. PCs can pretend to join the Volturnus Servey expedition to get access to the briefing. This would let them confirm 100% that the star system that Garini believes is the right one is just that. 

2. they can allow the astrogator and crew of the ship to claim the ownership of the jump route after they chart it. Or:

3. they can attempt to sneak aboard the star devil ship in port and steal the jump route file from the ships computer. 

By DM fiat, once the PCs are ready to set off for Zebulon, the Serena Dawn will have left first and they will be a little behind it, the star devil ship will be behind the PCs ship.

In Zebulon the PCs ship will be intercepted by star devil ships from Volturnus surface and the one following the PCs will attempt an intercept of the PCs ship. They will be equally matched ships but the skills of the pirate crew will give them an edge. This can be an abstract Khs encounter.  It can go a number of ways. boarding by pirates- AD action. crash landing on Volturnus, or evasion of pirates and landing on Volturnus. 

The ship, by DM fiat, will have landed a litte too close to the mechanon mounds and the mechies will take notice and move on the ship when the PCs are out and about. They come back to find one or more of the crew dead, Garini intercepts them just short of the ship to warn them about the mechanons.

Garini acts as a NPC guide to the PCs and the kurabunga and the ul-mor as well. 

The adventure starts from here as a sand box- all 3 of the modules are open to using as sandbox material. 

Garini wishes to collect artifacts that will make them all rich upon returning to the Frontier. perhaps he's also brought along a hover movement mode robot with a camera to document their adventures. Garini joined the pirates to escape Volturnus then jump ship in the Frontier. he bares a star devil tatoo and is afraid of meeting up with the pirates.

The PCs will learn that the Pirates are using slave labor to mine the ores they ship to PGC this is a story line they can pursue 

They can meet a survior of the VSE 2 expedition and learn things.

They can discover the impending return of the sathar and pursue that storyline.